@halcyonday-Thanks! I'm going a bit camera crazy while I'm on break from grad school for a month, I really enjoy it. The photography web here has really encouraged me to get off my ass and just try taking pictures. The more practice I do the better I seem to be getting.

In my case, it is usually the models themselves who do hair and makeup, the clothing is 50/50 the models/myself, and props and locations are generally my home or studio. I have done more elaborate shoots with hair/makeup/clothing people, but I prefer to keep it simple, and also prefer models with a more natural look.

@ Coop- Thanks. Do you get them through an agency, or want ads? Or just some non-shy friends?

I've been wanting to get more people into my photography, but I feel bad stopping people in their daily activities, and I've always felt kind of uncomfortable doing the "sneaky shoot" of street photography.

Performers, on the other hand, I adore. They save me all of the effort. :D

YAY! It's back! I've been using my little Canon Elph because it's easy to pop into my bag and is great for catching randomness. I recently used it though @ a friends gig - and after futzing with the white balance.. got it to give me some awesomeness!

having set the ISO at the highest.. it gave allowed me to get some great pics.. but also gave me that old school grain too.

@angeldye, I think your camera might let you shoot in RAW format which, if you aren't already doing it, gives you a LOT more control over the individual variables in the photo when you import it into photoshop. JPGS are the devil, the devil, I tell you!